The Pentagon announced Wednesday at 5 p.m. that the Army and Air Force had picked the L-3 Communications team’s C-27J Spartan as the Joint Cargo Aircraft. The team includes L-3, Alenia North America, Boeing, and Global Military Aircraft Systems. The contract calls for purchase of up to 78 aircraft at an estimated cost of $2.04 billion. The team will manufacture the aircraft at Alenia’s plant in Italy and perform additional work at L-3’s Waco, Tex., facility. The Army issued the contract, but lawmakers have questioned whether the Air Force should take exclusive control of the intra-theater airlift mission.
The Air Force is renaming its traditional aviation bonus program in 2024 and continuing a new, experimental second program, ordered by Congress, aimed at getting aviators to extend their commitment sooner and for longer. While the programs can’t be doubled-up, aviators may be able to move from one to the…